miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila

Ji, Hongli; Zhang, Shisong; Lu, Huiru; Ma, Ruying; Xin, Fengjie; Che, Jialin; Wu, Hui; Wang, Gang; Xie, Baotong

doi:10.3390/cells15090841

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miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila

by

Hongli Ji

^1,†,

Shisong Zhang

^1,†,

Huiru Lu

^1,†,

Ruying Ma

¹,

Fengjie Xin

¹,

Jialin Che

¹,

Hui Wu

²,

Gang Wang

^1,2,* and

Baotong Xie

^2,*

¹

School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang 261053, China

²

Department of Integrative Biomedical & Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Cells 2026, 15(9), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15090841

Submission received: 1 April 2026 / Revised: 24 April 2026 / Accepted: 29 April 2026 / Published: 4 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research in Neurogenesis and Neuroinflammation)

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Abstract

Binary cell fate decisions in the Drosophila retina generate R8 photoreceptor subtypes that express either blue-sensitive Rh5 or green-sensitive Rh6 opsins. These choices are governed by a Hippo pathway–dependent bistable switch, yet the mechanisms that couple pathway output to terminal opsin expression remain unclear. Here, we identify miR-927 as a regulator that biases R8 subtype fate. Loss of miR-927 increases Rh5-positive pR8 cells, whereas its overexpression promotes Rh6-positive yR8 identity. Mechanistically, miR-927 directly represses the terminal differentiation gene Rh5 and is capable of repressing the Hippo pathway effector yki through its 3′UTR. This dual targeting couples pathway output to terminal gene expression, providing a mechanism to bias and stabilize subtype identity. More broadly, our findings illustrate how microRNAs can be integrated into bistable signaling networks to modulate binary cell fate decisions.

Keywords: Drosophila; miR-927; Yorkie; Rhodopsin 5; Hippo pathway

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ji, H.; Zhang, S.; Lu, H.; Ma, R.; Xin, F.; Che, J.; Wu, H.; Wang, G.; Xie, B. miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila. Cells 2026, 15, 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15090841

AMA Style

Ji H, Zhang S, Lu H, Ma R, Xin F, Che J, Wu H, Wang G, Xie B. miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila. Cells. 2026; 15(9):841. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15090841

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ji, Hongli, Shisong Zhang, Huiru Lu, Ruying Ma, Fengjie Xin, Jialin Che, Hui Wu, Gang Wang, and Baotong Xie. 2026. "miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila" Cells 15, no. 9: 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15090841

APA Style

Ji, H., Zhang, S., Lu, H., Ma, R., Xin, F., Che, J., Wu, H., Wang, G., & Xie, B. (2026). miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila. Cells, 15(9), 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15090841

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miR-927 Regulates Photoreceptor Subtype Specification Through Yorkie and Sensory Opsins in Drosophila

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